Ladder structure



y 9, 1970 L. c. HUNTLEY 3,512,608

LADDER STRUCTURE Filed May 6, 1968 L RE C1. IFFOED HUNTLEY IN VEN TOR.

ET OQ E V Patented May 19, 1970 3,512,608 LADDER STRUCTURE LorenClifford Huntley, 8238 Colabar Ave., Playa Del Rey, Calif. 90291 FiledMay 6,1968, Ser. No. 726,754 Int. Cl. E06c 1/36 US. Cl. 182-93 11 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ladder for climbing upwardly at the side ofa boat or the like, and having an upper portion adapted to be hookedover the edge of the boat and forming two spaced grab rails, with avertical post extending downwardly from and suspended by the upperportion of the ladder and having steps projecting in opposite directionsfrom the post. The two grab rails are desirably of inverted U-shapedconfiguration, having first ends detachably connectible to the boat, andhaving second ends interconnected by a cross piece forming an additionalstep, from the center of which the mentioned post is suspended. Theladder is connected to the boat by brackets to which the ladder isconnectible by movement horizontally relativc tn the brackets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a unique ladderfor climbing upwardly at the side of a support structure, and over anupper edge of that structure, and in certain respects especially adaptedfor use as a boat ladder.

Though various types of ladders have been devised in the past for use inclimbing onto or off of a boat, all of those with which I am familiarhave had certain definite disadvantages. For example, many of theseladders have been formed of a material such as aluminum, wood, or thelike, which is subject to rapid deterioration in marine used, by reasonof the adverse effect of water, particularly salt water, on thesematerials. Further, the construction of these prior ladders has beensuch as to preclude the use of stainless steel or other corrosionresistant materials in their manufacture, because of the amount ofmaterial required in making the ladder, and the difficulty of formingthe material to the desired shapes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A ladder formed in accordance with the presentinvention is so constructed as to overcome the above disadvantages ofprior ladders, and in particular to enable formation of the ladder of solittle material, and with such case of manufacture, that a relativelyexpensive material may be employed. Preferably, a ladder embodying theinvention is formed of a high grade of stainless steel, desirably in theform of conventional tubing, bent and assembled in a highly uniquemanner.

Structurally the ladder includes an upper portion forming two grab railsto be grasped by the two hands of a user in climbing upwardly ordownwardly at the side of a boat, with a lower portion being suspendedby the upper portion and consisting of a single vertical post havingsteps projecting in opposite directions therefrom. The upper end of thepost may be secured to and suspended from an additional stepinterconnecting and extending between the lower ends of the two grabrails, with opposite ends of the grab rails being connectible to theboat by appropriate brackets.

Certain specific features of the invention relate to the preferredconstruction of these brackets. As will appear, these brackets aredesirably so formed as to enable very easy and rapid attachment of theladder to the boat, and detachment therefrom, by simple horizontalmotion of the ends of the tubing forming the grab rails relative to thebrackets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other features andobjects of the invention will be better understood from the followingdetailed description of the typical embodiment illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the ladder, showing it as it appears when inuse and attached to the side of a boat;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the ladder;

FIG. 3 is a full elevational view of the ladder, taken on line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through one of thebracket mounting arrangements, and taken through the bracket and theladder end on the line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view taken on line 66 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the bracket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, Ihave shown diagramatically at 10 a small boat whose outer surface 11extends upwardly above the water level 12 to a top edge or gunwhale ofthe boat. A ladder 14 constructed in accordance with the invention isattached to the boat in a position for use by a person in climbingupwardly at the side of the boat, either from a position within thewater or from an adjacent dock or the like. The ladder is supported fromthe boat by having the upper end of the ladder hooked over the gunwhalein a manner illustrated in FIG. 1.

With reference now to FIG. 2, the ladder may be considered as having anupper portion 15 preferably formed of a single elongated piece of metaltubing 16, and con- 7 nected at 17, preferably by heliarc welding, to alower portion 18 of the ladder. More particularly, the upper portion 15of the ladder desirably forms two identical horizontally spaced andparallel grab rail elements 18 and 19 interconnected at their lower orouter ends by a horizontal cross piece 20 forming an upper step of theladder. The two grab rails 18 and 19 are of inverted U-shapedconfiguration (see FIGS. 1 and 4), each having an end 21 which facesdownwardly and is detachably connectible by a coacting bracket 22 to thegunwale 11 of the boat. These inverted U-shaped grab rail elements 18and 19 first extend directly vertically upwardly from their extremities21, as indicated at 23, and then have return bend portions 24 whichcurve outwardly with respect to the boat and then extend directlyvertically downwardly at 25 to the second ends 26 of the U-shapedelements. At these ends 26, the U-shaped elements are connected toopposite ends of the cross piece 20, preferably by formation integrallytherewith. That is, the tubular material forming the inverted U-shapedgrab rail elements 18 and 19 may merely be curved through degrees at thelocations 26 to merge with and form the horizontal cross piece 20, sothat the entire upper grab rail and cross piece combination forming theupper portion 15 of the ladder is formed, as previously indicated, froma single elongated length of tubing. As seen in FIG. 3, the two U-shapedgrab rail portions 18 and 19- desirably lie within two parallel verticalplanes 27 and 28, and are spaced apart a distance d wide enough toenable a person to climp upwardly between the grab rails. For bestresults, the distance d between the grab rails should be between about12 and 15 inches.

At their attachment ends 21, the grab rails are flared radiallyoutwardly to form annular generally horizontally projecting flanges 29disposed essentially transversely of the vertical axes 30 of portions 23of the ladder. These flanges are slidably receivable in interfittingengagement with the two attaching brackets 22, which are secured byscrews 31 to the horizontal upper surface of the gunwale or upper edge13 of the boat. Each bracket 22 is desirably formed of a lower planarhorizontally extending piece of sheet metal 32 and a second and upperhorizontally extending piece of sheet metal 33 brazed, Welded, orotherwise secured to the upper surface of element 32. These two parts 32and 33 have the same peripheral outline configuration, as seen in FIG.6, except insofar as the upper part 33 is interrupted for reception ofone of the tubing flanges 29. More particularly, the outline shape ofparts 32 and 33 is such as to provide a central area 34 for reception ofthe tubing flange, with two ears 35 projecting in opposite directiontherefrom for reception of two of the screws 31 in positions ofextension downwardly through openings 37 in the two parts 32 and 33, sothat the screws may connect into gunwale 13 for rigidly securing thebracket thereto. An additional opening 38 may be provided in the forwardportion of lower part 32 of the bracket, to further assure rigidattachment of the bracket to the gunwale, and to thereby hold the ladderrigidly in place.

As seen best in FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper part 33 of the bracket is cutaway at its forward side to provide a throat 39 into which the flange 29of one of the tubing portions 23 is horizontally slidable. This throat39 is defined by two opposite side edges 40 of part 33, which convergerearwardly to the location of an essentially semicircular opening oredge 41 formed in and by the material of upper part 33 of the bracket.This edge 41 is curved circularly about axis 30 at a diameter slightlygreater than the diameter of outer surface 42 of tubing portions 23.Adjacent edge 41, the material of upper part 33 of the bracket is turnedangularly upwardly into vertically spaced relation with respect to theupper horizontal planar surface of bottom part 32 of the bracket, toform with that bracket a circularly extending guideway 43 (FIGS. 5, 6,and 7) of a size to closely receive and confine flange 29 of the ladder.The opening at the forward side of this guideway is wide enough toenable the ladder end to be slid horizontally (to the right in FIG. intothe guideway, andto then be frictionally retained within theguideway,.in the position of FIGS. 5 and 6, until forcibly displacedhorizontally therefrom. As seen in FIG. 6, the guideway 43 desirablyextends very slightly more than 180 degrees about axis 30, but theexternal dimension of flange 29 is small enough to enable that flange tobe slid into the guideway in spite of the fact that the ladder doesextend slightly more than half way around the axis. The material of theparts 32 and 3.3 is sufliciently rigid to retain the illustratedconfiguration and thereby effectively receive and hold the ladder.Preferably, the two rigidly connected parts 32 and 33 of the bracket areformed of stainless steel, of a thickness giving the bracket the desiredrigidity.

The lower portion 18 of the ladder includes a vertically extending post44, preferably formed of the same type and diameter of tubing of whichupper portion 15 is made, with the upper end of post 44 being rigidlyattached at 17 to the center of the cross piece or step 20. Thisconnection may be made by heliarc welding the upper end of the post tothe center of the cross piece. At a series of vertically spacedlocations, post 42 carries a number of laterally projecting steps 45,with alternate ones of the steps projecting in opposite horizontaldirections, and with the inner ends 46 of the steps heliarc welded orotherwise rigidly secured at post 44. The steps may be formed of rigidmetal tubing, which extends first horizontally outwardly from andperpendicular to post 44, and parallel to cross piece 20, and is thenturned upwardly at 47 to form an outer end of the step. At its extremitythe step may carry a cap or plug element 48 formed of an appropriatemetal or resinous plastic material or the like. The lowermost one of thesteps may project outwardly from the very bottom of post 44.

At a point above the lower end of post 44, this post carries a spacermember 49, for engaging the boat and maintaining the rest of the ladderin spaced relation thereto. This member 49 may be of T-shaped horizontalconfiguration, having a member 50 secured rigidly at 51 to andprojecting perpendicularly from post 44, and having a horizontal crosspiece 52 at its extremity carrying rubber caps 53, or other suitablecushioning material, adapted to engage the side of the boat in acushioned relation. The member 50 of spacer 49 lies in a vertical planewhich is midway between and parallel to the two vertical planes 27 and28 of FIG. 3, with the enlargement or cross piece 52 of the spacerextending perpendicular to all of these planes, but parallel to thehorizontal portions of the various steps 20 and 45. Portions 50 and 52of the spacer may, like most of the other portions of the ladder, beformed of rigid metal tubing, with all of the tubing, as previouslyindicated, desirably being formed of an appropriate highly corrosionresistant stainless steel.

In using the ladder, it may be very easily connected to the side of aboat in the FIG. 1 condition, by merely positioning the flanges 29 ofthe two portions 23 of the ladder on the upper surfaces of the twobrackets, and then sliding those flanges horizontally along the uppersurfaces of parts 32 of the brackets, and into confined relation withinthe two approximately semi-circular guideways 43. The flanges will befrictionally retained within the guideways by virtue of their tight fittherein, with the weight of the ladder being effectively supported onthe gunwale. A person may then climb upwardly from the water, or from anadjacent dock, by using the steps 45, and the upper step 20, andgrasping the grab rails 18 and 19. When the ladder is to be taken out ofuse, the flanges or flared portions 29 of the tubing may easily he slidhorizontally out of their positions of confinement within the brackets,to free the ladder from the brackets so that it may be pulled upwardlyinto the boat.

At the time of initial sale of the above discussed ladder to apurchaser, the ladder may be so designed as to enable alteration of thehorizontal length of tubular element 50 of the spacer 49, in order toadapt the ladder for use with a particular boat, that is, so that thepost 44 may be maintained in a directly vertical position when thespacer 49 is in engagement with the side of the boat. For this purpose,tube 50 may initially be formed of a predetermined maximum usablelength, and be adapted to be cut off transversely at diiferent locationsalong its length to reduce the effective spacing length of the tube. Theinner end 54 of tube 50 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) may be secured to verticalpost 44 by telescopic reception about a short connector post 55 which iswelded or otherwise secured to post 44 and projects horizontallytherefrom. To form a tight mechanical connection between tube 50 andpost 55, the tube 50 may have a series of localized depressions orindentations 56 formed in its side wall at spaced locations along thelength of the tube, so that the radially inwardly deformed material atthese indentations is tightly frictionally engageable with the outersurface of post 55 in a manner securing tube 50 on the post in fixedrelation thereto after the tube has been forced thereOn. When thedesired length for tube 50 has been determined, the tube may be cut offtransversely at any location between a pair of the indentations 56, asfor instance in the vertical plane 57 of FIG. 4, following which theremaining shortened portion of the tube may be forced onto post 55 sothat the next one of the indentations 56 will tightly engage the postand form a tight rigid connection between the spacer and the post.

I claim:

1. A ladder for use in climbing upwardly at a side of a supportstructure and over an edge thereof; comprising an upper portion of theladder adapted to be hooked over said edge of the support structure andbe suspended thereby, said upper portion having two grab rails spacedlaterally apart to be grasped by the two hands of a user in climbingupwardly, a vertical post connected at its upper end to and suspended bysaid upper portion of the ladder and extending downwardly therefrom at alocation to be received at said side of the support structure, stepsprojecting in opposite directions from said post to be engaged by thefeet of a user at said opposite sides of the post in climbing upwardly,and interfitting connectors on said upper portion of the ladder and saidsupport structure and movable into interfitting relation by relativehorizontal movement to connect the ladder to said structure.

2. A ladder for use in climbing upwardly at a side of a supportstructure and over an edge thereof; comprising an upper portion of theladder adapted to be hooked over said edge of the support structure andbe suspended thereby, said upper portion including a step and having twograb rails spaced laterally apart to be grasped by the two hands of auser in climbing upwardly, a vertical post connected to and suspended bysaid step of said upper portion of the ladder and extending downwardlytherefrom at a location to be received at said side of the supportstructure, and additional steps projecting in opposite directions fromsaid post at locations beneath said first mentioned step to be engagedby the feet of a user at said opposite sides of the post in climbingupwardly.

3. A ladder as recited in claim 2, in which said upper portion of theladder includes two laterally spaced elongated elements of generallyinverted U-shaped configuration and forming said two grab rails, saidfirst mentioned step extending between and being attached at oppositeends to said U-shaped elements, said post being connected at its upperend to said first mentioned step at a location intermediate saidopposite ends thereof.

4. A ladder as recited in claim 2, in which said upper portion of theladder includes two laterally spaced elongated elements of generallyinverted U-shaped configuration and forming said two grab rails, saidtwo elongated elements having first ends by which they are supportedfrom said edge of the support structure and having second and lower endsto be received at said outer side of said support structure, twobrackets to be mounted to said edge of the support structure at spacedlocations, means at said first ends of the elongated elements detachablyconnectible to said brackets respectively, said upper portion of theladder having a horizontally extending cross piece forming said firstmentioned step extending between and connected at its opposite ends tosaid second ends of said U-shaped elements, said post being connectednear its upper end to a generally central portion of said firstmentioned step and projecting downwardly therefrom.

5. A ladder as recited in claim 4, in which said upper portion of theladder is formed of a single elongated piece of tubing bent to form saidtwo U-shaped elements ,and said cross piece therefrom.

6. A ladder as recited in claim 4, including a spacing member projectingfrom said post and having an enlarged and cushioned end engageable withsaid structure to space said post therefrom.

7. A ladder as recited in claim 2, in which said upper portion of theladder includes two laterally spaced elongated elements of generallyinverted U-shaped configuration and forming said two grab rails.

8. A ladder as recited in claim 2, in which said upper portion of theladder includes two laterally spaced elongated elements of generallyinverted U-shaped configuration and forming said two grab rails, saidtwo elongated elements having first ends by which they are supportedfrom said edge of the support structure and having second ends connectedto opposite ends of said first mentioned step.

9. A ladder as recited in claim 2, including connector means forsecuring said grab rails to said support structure.

10. A ladder as recited in claim 2, including two sets of interfittingconnectors to be carried by said support structure and said grab railsfor detachably securing said grab rails to the support structure.

11. A ladder as recited in claim 2, including a spacing memberprojecting from said post at a location to engage said side of thesupport structure and hold the post in outwardly spaced relationthereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,206,906 12/1916 Persson 182-1891,625,745 4/1927 Rhodes 287-20 2,924,291 2/1960 Tunstead 1822063,078,955 2/1963 Rich 182-206 3,134,566 5/1964 Beene 287-20 3,307,6543/1967 Green 182-206 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

